Recent Sightings
REPORTS OF RECENT SIGHTINGS IN THE AREA
Do let us know of any interesting sightings in the area. Just e-mail us at info@haslemerenaturalhistorysociety.org.uk
All sightings are posted in good faith, but have not necessarily been formally authenticated
See more sightings in our Facebook Wildlife Notes
Small Tortoiseshell found in Church
Fungi – probably Melanoleuca polioleuca Common Cavalier Click for photo
Helvella crispa fungus Click for photo
Sub-adult Gannet on High Street taken into care
Natterer’s bat injured as hanging tile removed – taken into care Click for photo
Daubenton’s bat Myotis daubentonii brought in by cat
Can anyone tell us what these jelly-like blobs are? Click for photo
Female Firecrest flew into a glass door. Kept inside for the night and released in the morning. Click for photo
Sulphur Tuft fungi Hypholoma fasciculare on tree stump Click for photo
Rose Bedeguar Gall (also known as Robin’s pincushion) Click for photo – a gall caused by the larvae of a tiny wasp, Dipoloepis rosae
Red Admiral
Satellite moth Click for photo and Merveille-du-Jour Click for photo
Firecrest searching through heather
Pied Flycatcher, pair, catching insects
Raven in flight
Barn owl
Several passes by rare Western Barbastelle bat Barbastella barbastellus between dusk and dawn. Also detected: Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Brown Long-eared Plecotus auritus,Serotine Eptesicus serotinus, Soprano Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pygmaeus,Daubenton’s Myotis daubentonii, and Noctule Nyctalus noctula.
Three Blue Underwing (Clifden Nonpareil) moths Catocala fraxini Click for photo
Good numbers of Soprano Pipistrelles Pipistrellus pygmaeus and Daubenton’s bats Myotis daubentonii on the wing. Also passes by Noctule bats Nyctalus noctula,, Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Brown Long-eared bat Plecotus auritus and Serotine Eptesicus serotinus
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
Good displays by Soprano Pipistrelles Pipistrellus pygmaeus and Noctule bats Nyctalus noctula. Daubenton’s Myotis daubentonii, Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Brown Long-eared Plecotus auritus and Serotine Eptesicus serotinus also detected.
Juvenile Slowworm Anguis fragilis crossing sandy path
Crab spider folding a flower petal with silk to hide before catching a hoverfly Click for photo
Sub-adult Brown Long-eared bat Plecotus auritus taken into care after being found grounded Click for photo
Wasp Plumehorn hoverfly Volucella inanis Click for photo
Brown Hairstreak butterfly, female searching for suitable egg-laying locations on young Blackthorn
6 well fledged Song Thrushes eating elderberries. About 11 House Sparrows. Plus Wren, Robin etc Also Hedge Sparrow, about 4 Great Tits. Also heard 2 Tree Creepers.
Spider Metellina sp. Click for photo
Large jumping spider Marpissa muscosa in sunshine Click for photo
Speckled Bush-cricket Leptophyes punctatissima Click for photo
Several species of bat on the wing – Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Serotine, Brown Long-eared and Noctule
Stoat outside back door
Hummingbird Hawkmoth Click for photo
Two large, unidentified deer, possibly Red Deer
4 unidentified bats on the wing
Golden Ringed dragonfly
Light Crimson Underwing moth click for photo, second generation Wood White butterfly click for photo and an Oak Bush-Cricket
Great Fox-Spider juvenile (very small)
Longhorn beetle Lectura quadrifasciata Click for photo
Valesina subspecies of Silver Washed Fritillary, lacking orange pigmentation, nectaring on blackberry blossom
Tawny Grisette Amanita fulva
About 10 Swifts screaming overhead
Many butterflies nectaring in sunshine – Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Green-veined White, Large Skipper, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Holly Blue
Butterflies – Brimstone 45, Silver-washed Fritillary 19
Female Emperor dragonfly devouring a (possibly newly emerged) Migrant Hawker Click for photo
Common and Soprano Pipistrelles, Daubenton’s and Noctule bats on the wing
Hummingbird Hawkmoth on Buddleia flower
Wood White butterfly, 2, first of summer brood
Greater Horseshoe bat investigating potential roost. Common and Soprano Pipistrelles, Serotine, Brown Long-eared and Natterer’s bats also foraging in the area.
Inquisitive Reeve’s Muntjac frightening a Rabbit Click for photo
Grayling butterfly
2nd generation Holly Blue butterfly Click for photo. Also pupae of a Harlequin Ladybird on a ragwort leaf.
Glow worm glowing
Small Tortoiseshell butterfly Click for photo
Grass Snake, adult, curled up under a tin
Grey Herons disputing territory Click for photo
Silver-washed Fritillary, Large and Small Skipper, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White and White Admiral butterflies, many of all now on the wing.
Starling, flock of 70+ on telegraph wires
Purple Emperor butterfly Click for photo
Multicolored Asian Ladybeetle (Harlequin) larva Harmonia axyridis Click for photo
Male Broad-bodied chaser Libellula depressa Click for photo
Two Swifts up high
4 Swifts screaming
Common Awl Robberfly Neoitamus_cyanurus Click for photo
Green Tiger Beetle Cicindela campestris Click for photo
Green-veined White butterfly
Weevil Cionus hortulanus Click for photo
Jumping spiders Heliophanus flavipes Click for photo and Salticus scenicus hunting in sunshine
Yellow Shell moth Click for photo
Holly blue butterfly nectaring on Cotoneaster flowers Click for photo
Nightingale singing
Swifts, two flying very high
Bee fly Bombilius major Click for photo
Cuckoo calling on and off all week
Wood White butterfly – first of spring brood
Female Bechstein’s bat radio tagged to trace roost
Wolf spider Pardosa amentata warily courting a large female Click for photo
Holly Blue, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Orange Tip (male) and Speckled Wood butterflies
Two Duke of Burgundy butterflies
Four Wasp Beetles emerging from logs
Amphipod, probably the invasive land hopper Arcitalitrus dorrieni Click for photo
Hornet flying between window and
curtain.
Holly Blue butterfly
Holly Blue butterfly
Slowworm, adult, beneath tin
Blackcap and Wren singing
Speckled Wood butterfly
Nightingale singing Click for recording
Great Crested Newt
Otter crossing road
Sparrowhawk missing its target on a bird feeder then resting for five seconds
Male and female Adder basking about 1km north of the NT car park, possibly sub adult, as they were quite small, so perhaps not a breeding pair. Click for photo
Orange-tip butterfly male
Red Kite flying over
5 Slow Worms in compost bin and one Grass Snake sheltering under a compost bin lid on the ground
Goldcrest on bird feeder
Male Brambling
Skylark seen and heard
Brimstone butterfly, male
Solitary specimen of Wood Sorrel in flower
Otter
Southern Wood Ant colonies emerging en masse
Grey Wagtail foraging in the stream entering the pond. Also Yew flower pollen releasing.
Small flock of Bullfinches
First singing Chiffchaff of the year at this site (5 days later than last year). Woodlark singing here last 2 days also.
Pair Greenfinches
Close view of an adult Viviparous Lizard
Two Siskins on grass
Yellow wagtail reported scrabbling about for food under the lamp
Elfcup fungus – either Scarlet Elfcup Sarcoscypha austriaca or Ruby Elfcup Sarcoscypha coccinea Click for photo
Several Herald moths and a number of Cave Spiders Meta sp. in National Trust bat barn Click for photo
9 Natterer’s bats Myotis nattereri in underground hibernaculum
Female Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea checking garden pond
Nationally scarce Horse Chestnut moth Pachycnemia hippocastanaria Click for photo
Last sighting of a Brambling this winter
Pair of very vocal Ravens seen
Male Brimstone butterfly
Two male Brimstone butterflies, , energetically searching bramble plants
Frog spawn appearing in garden pond
Turkey tail fungus Trametes versicolor Click for photo
Siskins have finally made their annual appearance on my bird feeder
An amazing 67 moths trapped overnight including Pale Pinion Lithophane hepatica Click for photo and a March moth Alsophila aescularia Click for photo
Male Brimstone butterfly
Red Kite swooping over fields
Thrush singing joyfully
One Daubenton’s bat and a single long-eared bat hibernating in NT Bat barn
A single Natterer’s bat hibernating in NT bat barn
2 rare Western Barbastelle bats Barbastella barbastellus, 14 Natterer’s Myotis nattereri, 1 Daubenton’s Myotis daubentonii, 1 long-eared Plecotus sp, 1 small woodland Myotis hibernating in underground site
Rare British Soldiers lichen Cladonia cristatella Click for photo
Field Vole Microtus agrestis Click for photo
Late 1st sighting of brambling (usually first seen in November)
Unusually pale female Blackbird. Click for photo
(Subsequently identified as having dilution, in which melanin cells are present (unlike in leucistic birds) but produce less pigment than normal).
3 or more Treecreepers this morning in a shrubby tree by the stream,
8 Greenfinches in the garden this morning. Usually 1 and occasionally 2 but haven’t seen 8 together for some years.
Toad
Pair of Reeve’s Muntjac browsing in close proximity
Four unringed Greater Horseshoe bats still resident in roost due to mild weather
Goldfinches, 8 on bird feeders and queue nearby
Tiger Eye Fungus
Many Common Pipistrelle and Brown Long-eared bats on the wing, and a single Western Barbastelle
Common Frog Click for photo
Many varieties of fungi on a dead tree stump
Sparrowhawk being enthusiastically chased by two carrion crows
Speckled Wood butterfly in 17ºC temp
Two male Common Darters, over the same puddle. And, less expected, a male Emperor, patrolling a puddle, and two female Emperors, ovipositing in the banks of puddles
Painted Lady butterfly
Firecrest stunned on patio – later recovered
Slowworm beneath the soil
Clifden Nonpareil moth in greenhouseClick for photo
Grass Snake, juvenile, beneath a tin and a sloughed skin beneath another tin
Centipede Lithobius forficatus found in house Click for photo
Pair of Raven circling for some minutes (single ravens also spotted over Black Down in past 3 weeks)
Three juvenile Greater Horseshoe bats and a single Western Barbastelle roosting in derelict building
Three juvenile Greater Horseshoe bats and a single Western Barbastelle roosting in derelict building
Crossbill, Sparrowhawk, 15 Redwings, 3 Firecrests and 2 Marsh Tits
Green-brindled Crescent Click for photo and Merveille du Jour moths Click for photo
Ravens, 2 flying over
Grisette Amanita vaginata fungus Click for photo
Psathyrella corrugis fungus Click for photo
Red-cracked Bolete Boletus chrysenteron Click for photo
Scarletina Bolete Neoboletus praestigiator (known before as Boletus erythropus or luridiformis) Click for photo
Convolvulus Hawkmoth Click for photo
Rare Wood Sandpiper Click for photo
Much bat activity over lake. Common and Soprano pipistrelles, Daubenton’s, Natterer’s, Brown Long-eared and Noctule all seen clearly by lamplight
Hummingbird Hawk moth
Butting match between a pair of Reeves Muntjac – the female possibly repelling mating advances
Hummingbird Hawk moth
Young Roe suckling between browsing on brambles Click for photo
Hummingbird Hawk moth
Glow-worms, 2
Hummingbird Hawk moth
3 Wood White butterflies, new to this site
Drinker moth Click for photo
Juvenile Greater Horseshoe bats now starting to fly in maternity roost Click for video
Silver-washed Fritillary butterfly
Partial albino Juvenile Carrion Crow Click for photo
Invasive immigrant Box-tree MothCydalima perspectalis Click for photo
Purple Emperor butterfly flying unusually low on the hottest day
Wood White butterfly Click for photo
Two Barn Owls emerging from barn roost
Many pipistrelle bats of both common species on the wing, plus Noctule, Daubenton’s, Serotine, Western Barbastelle, Alcathoe, Brown Long-eared and some unidentified Myotis species
Many pipistrelle bats of both common species on the wing, plus Noctule, Daubenton’s, Serotine, Western Barbastelle, Alcathoe, Brown Long-eared and some unidentified Myotis species
Green Woodpecker and juvenile foraging for ants Click for photo
Up to nine Greater Horseshoe bats in maternity roost – with five pups now visible Click for video
Barn owl in flight
Many bats feeding on the wing – Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Daubenton’s, Brown Long-eared and Noctule
Swift
Buff Ermine moth, resting on front door
Swift, one. Swallows 18 perched on wires
Juvenile Soprano Pipistrelle bat taken into care after being found grounded
Goat Moth Click for photo and Light Crimson Underwing Click for photo
Brown Long-eared bat in dormouse box Click for photo
Glowworm
Common Pipistrelle bat pup found in kitchen, but soon died
First local Greater Horseshoe bat pup of 2022 Click for video
Marbled White, Ringlet butterflies
Female Common Pipistrelle bat found exhausted in house. Released after a little attention.
Pine Hawkmoth Click for photo and Eyed Hawkmoth Click for photo
Large Skipper, White Admiral, Meadow Brown, Wood White butterflies
Lime Hawkmoth in polytunnel Click for photo Many beetles on foliage, including 14-spot Ladybird Propylea quattuordecimpunctata Click for photo
Rare Western Barbastelle bat flying past
Common and Soprano Pipistrelle bats
At least 5 plump-looking Greater Horseshoe bats now in residence in maternity roost
Heavily pregnant Soprano Pipistrelle bat trapped in building taken into care. Released after rehydration and a good feed.
Painted Lady butterfly
Female Field Cricket Click for photo
Alder Kitten moth: the 2nd ever record for Hants, the other was in 1945 Click for photo
Greater Horseshoe bats beginning to return to maternity roost
Scorpionfly Panorpa communis Click for photo
Swifts, 7
Much bat activity overnight – Common and Soprano Pipistrelles, Brown long-eared, Noctule, Serotine, Western Barbastelle and unidentified Myotis species
Fine Sulphur Polypore Laetiporus sulphurous Click for photo
Poplar Hawk Click for photo and Green Silver-lines Click for photo moths, and some eggs laid in the moth trap (probably from Pale Tussock moth) Click for photo
Fox cub (one of three) foraging alone Click for video
Wood White butterflies, several spring brood
Green-veined White butterfly
Very large female pipistrelle bat of indeterminate species taken into care with serious cat injuries. (DNA test showed it to be Pipistrellus pipistrellus).
Orange-tip male and Comma butterflies
Wasp Beetle Clytus arietis Click for photo
Puss Moth
Tiny Red Fox cub playing with mother
Stitchwort scrambling up a wire fenceand also in adjacent woodland
Comma butterfly fluttering near loganberry leaves
Emperor moth, male Click for photo
Natterjack Toads, juvenile and spawn strings
Dead Stoat found in garden Click for photo
Holly Blue and male Orange-tip butterflies
Cuckoo
Common and Soprano Pipistrelles, Daubenton’s, Brown long-eared, Serotine and Western Barbastelle bats
Cuckoo
Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip and Peacock butterflies. Also a Goldfinch landing on the ground.
Common and Soprano Pipistrelles and Daubenton’s bats
Nightingale heard
Coltsfoot growing in a large patch on disturbed gravel Click for photo
Long-eared bat, probably Plecotus auritus, sheltering in National Trust bat barn after a cold night
Peacock butterfly fluttering over grass and briefly basking on paving slabs, then chased off an approaching bumblebee, following it for a good few seconds’ distance
Greater Horseshoe bat returning to regular roost
Brimstone and Peacock butterflies active in the sunshine
Population of Cellar Spiders Pholcus phalangiodes apparently wiped out by entomopathogenic fungus, probably Torrubiella pulvinata Click for photo
Common pipistrelle bat found grounded in pouring rain. Released after a few days of intensive care.
Male Brimstone butterfly
Peacock butterfly
Chiffchaff singing
Brimstone butterfly, male
2 x Red Admiral butterflies
Peacock Butterfly
Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum Click for photo
Buff tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris on a daffodil Click for photo
5 Natterer’s bats Myotis nattereri, 2 small woodland Myotis and a single long-eared bat Plecotus sp. hibernating in underground site. Also good numbers of Herald moths.
Extensive carpet of mauve crocuses visited by bumblebees and wild bees Click for photo
Badger seizing worms from grass Click for video
Roe buck with fine antlers in velvet Click for photo
In moth trap: 8 moths, two species, Pale Brindled Beauty and Spring Ushers Click for photo. Also a solitary wasp Ancistrocerus nigricornis Click for photo
Pair of Reeve’s muntjac Click for photo
Heron perching unconcernedly in treetop whilst being mobbed by nest-building crows Click for photo
Fox skull Click for photo
Brown long-eared bat found grounded. Died in care a few days later.
3 Natterer’s bats, a Daubenton’s, a small woodland Myotis, a long-eared and an unidentified Myotis hibernating in underground site
4 Goosander (1 male, 3 females)
3 male Goosander still present on pond
Queen wasp emerging prematurely from hibernation
Spirited fight between two Wood Pigeons beneath bird feeder, egged on by two squawking Magpies who then chased and pecked the loser
6 Goosander – 3 male, 3 female, and a Little Egret
Adder Click for photo
Amazing display of fungi on a tree stump Click for photo
Various fungi on an old oak stump Click for photo
Several bunches of mistletoe on a leafless tree Click for photo
Mosquito Culex pipiens emerging from hibernation during mild spell Click for photo
Leucistic goldfinch at birdfeeder Click for photo
Redwing Click for photo and jay Click for photo
Large badger foraging on lawn during a mild night
Male blackcap
Common darter
Male common darter
Hibernating brown long-eared bat found beneath ridge tile during repair works. Taken into temporary care. (A second brought in on 17th, then both released) Click for photo
Ring-necked parakeet Psittacula krameri on birdfeeder Click for photo
Cluster of fenugreek stalkball Phleogena faginea , a tiny basidiomycete fungus growing on tree bark Click for photo
Ring ouzel (1st winter) Click for photo, mistle thrush, fieldfare,redwing, blackbird, 20+ brambling, chaffinch, lesser redpoll, a few stonechat and Dartford warbler, 400-ish wood pigeon heading south
Large flocks of wood pigeon, 12+ crossbill, 50-ish linnet(?), goshawk toying with a crow, 4 cormorant, small numbers of redwing and fieldfare